I've got about 60 plants in my front bed that I started from seed, a lot of them are flopped over. Some of them laid over even before they were blooming and then curved up and started growing back up again. I love the color and have always loved black eyed susans but they just might be too messy looking for my taste.

When do you cut them back or do you? Mine have been blooming for a while now but I'm not sure how long they will bloom.

Cindy

Hi Hollyhocker,
I have had trouble with the Gloriosa daisy type of Black Eyed Susans falling over. Also, the goldfinches enjoy them so much that they have broken some of the stems and pulled the flowers apart. A couple of weeks ago I was talking with another gardener in my area about how these flowers seem to be fragile stemmed. He showed me his Gloriosa daisies and then compared them to his Goldsturm Black Eyed Susans. I could hardly believe the differences! The Goldsturm is so strong and bushy! So, I got a large clump from him and it has been in my yard about a week. We have had several days of heavy rain during this last week, and the Goldsturm is standing straight and tall, even with being newly transplanted! I don't know a lot about the various cultivars of rudbeckia, but I'm thrilled that Goldsturm sure seems to be able to take the wind and rain. :)
Take care,
Katrina